Growing Pains
by xheartxfeltx
Summary: Lin faces a new foe in her role as a mother…girls.


_I do not own these characters, or profit from this story._

* * *

Lin should have seen this coming from miles away.

Admittedly she had been luckier than most mothers, in that her son had stayed focused on his studies for so long before the curse began to rage through her sons hormones.

It didn't hurt that in the earlier years of her motherhood, Skoochy seemed determined to sweep Jinora off her feet. However the young air-bender had begun preparations to receive her arrows, which required heavy spiritual focus and a total lack of anything outside the contemplation of the role as an air-bender.

Naturally this had put immediate halt to all rendezvous between Jinora and Skoochy, and although the boy knew and understood the reasons, and was even proud of Jinora for her determination and skills, he couldn't help but feel the wedge of separation begin to pry their friendship apart.

For the first few months he had thrown himself into his daily training and had even taken up the challenge to learn how to read and write, hoping for it to be a surprise to Jinora when she emerged victorious as a newly marked air-bender.

Yet as time went on and Skoochy saw less of Jinora he noticed a growing attraction in other girls. He began to study his peers and their ways in courtship, and mimicked what he saw until he became something of a ladies man. The guy that every girl wanted, and it was a role he wore with something akin to pride.

Lin watched her son grow from a skinny unhealthy street rat. His muscles were beginning to fill out (thanks in part to eating EVERYTHING in the house), and his training had added definition. He had shot up in height until his limbs were no longer awkward extensions. He seemed to fit in his body now and the entire female teenage population of republic city had also taken notice.

Lin was fighting the urge to lock her son away.

* * *

On a rare day off for the chief of police, Lin and Skoochy had decided to shop for clothes that didn't reveal his ankles.

The trip took them to the local market which seemed to be crawling with teenagers Skoochy's age. And most notable among them were the girls who kept shooting glances at the young man by her side.

Had the girls always been this scantily dressed?

Veering off the main walkway Lin began to peruse a stand that sold clothes similar to Skoochy's height. Not an overly huge fan of shopping, and aware that her son wasn't either, she grabbed the first set of pants that seemed to fit, and turned to ask his opinion.

Skoochy was a few meters away leaning against a tree murmuring into another girls ear while the object of his affections ran a hand along his arm.

Lin tried hard not to gag at the sight. Paying for the pair of pants regardless of her sons opinion, the metal bender grabbed Skoochy by the collar of his shirt and jerked him away a few inches.

"Did you forget you were shopping with your mom?" she asked sarcastically, holding the newly purchased pants out to show, while the nameless girl began to giggle.

Skoochy sighed in irritation before beginning introductions, "Mom, this is Lei. Lei meet my mother"

Lei turned to sheepishly grin at Lin who returned the look with a raised eyebrow and a "hmm" before grabbing her sons elbow.

"Are you content with these, or did you want to get more?" Skoochy seemed to recoil at the thought of more shopping, which Lin took as an answer in the negative.

"I have to get going anyway, it was nice to meet you Chief Bei Fong, Skoochy I'll see you later." She threw a wink to the grinning young man next to her before swaying off into the crowd.

Lin was less than impressed with the display. Skoochy threw out a "Later Lei."

She was starting to miss the days when Skoochys' voice would break into hilarious squeaks. But now it seemed the embarrassing trait had passed leaving the teenager with a deep voice.

Shaking her head from her inner reverie, she followed Skoochy towards the markets exit, while trying to break the strangely awkward silence that had settled over the pair.

"That Lei girl, she seemed…" Lin fought for an appropriate word to describe the young woman. She finally settled with "pretty."

Skoochy seemed lost in his own thoughts and merely replied with a, "Hmm…oh yeah shes hot."

'Hot' was not something she would normally associate with another persons looks. Still Lin couldn't decide if she simply did not like the girl because it was HER son the girl was trying to sink her talons into or if she had a problem with the girl herself.

"I'm thinking about dating her." Skoochy muttered.

Lin tried not to cringe at the thought. She knew it was her duty to be supportive of her sons decisions. Yet she could not shake the thought that the girl would be a VERY bad idea for Skoochy. She mentally rolled her eyes at her overly protective thoughts. Toph must be having a good laugh in the spirit world.

Hoping to draw away from the topic, Lin quickly changed tactics. "I talked to Tenzin the other day. Jinora is almost ready to receive her tattoos. Should be within the next few weeks."

Skoochy stiffened at the mention of Jinora and glanced shyly at his mother.

"Do you think she'll be okay? I heard the process can hurt."

Lin simply shrugged in return before answering, "She's a tough girl I'm sure she'll be fine."

Skoochy nodded his head thoughtfully.

"Are you excited to see her again?" his mother asked.

Skoochy let out a heavy sigh. "Honestly Mom I dunno. It's been over a year and we're completely different people now. I still want to be her friend but anything more…I just don't know right now."

Lin tried not to let her disappointment show at this statement.

As they reached their house a group of young men and women turned the corner and joyfully shouted out Skoochy's name upon noticing his presence. With hearty exclamations and requests to join them in their adventures Skoochy threw a questioning glance at his mother, who returned it with a nod towards his friends.

He grinned and ran to meet the other teenagers, who welcomed the boy with slaps on the back and ruffles of his hat covered hair.

Lin let out a sigh upon noticing that the Lei girl was among the teenagers and had immediately grabbed Skoochy's hand, planting a kiss on the boys cheek.

Frowning at the display, Lin turned to the door, trying to push down the feelings of unease at the girls antics.

Lin was not ready for her son to be dating

* * *

Skoochy had returned that night with a new girlfriend and from the moment on he seemed to spend any remaining time he had with the girl.

Lin tried to fight back the feelings of loneliness and focused on extra case loads. And for a while it worked as a prefect distraction.

Coming home late one night Lin let herself into to the house before turning and stopping short at the sight of her teenage son sitting at the kitchen table. His head buried into his arms and his shoulders slumped wearily.

"Whats wrong?" she murmured quietly hoping not to startle the sullen teenager.

"Lei cheated on me." was his equally quiet reply.

Lin began preparations to make tea if only to avoid stomping down to the station, assembling her best men, and hunting down the little tramp. After a few minutes Lin set the cup of tea in front of her son who sniffed at it wearily before taking a hesitant sip.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, afraid to hear the details but unsure of how else to support her boy.

"Not much to tell I guess, I went over to surprise her and caught her with another guy. End of story."

He tried to settle his shoulders and put on the appearance of calm but he had trouble hiding the red swollen look to his eyes that hinted it might have cut deeper than he was letting on.

Lin took a few sips of her tea before replying, "Well, there are always other girls in the city." Like Jinora she thought silently. "Just gotta keep looking I guess."

He gave off a bitter laugh before slumping his shoulders again. "You don't understand mom, she…was my first." He looked down at this last part.

Lin fumed. She did NOT like knowing that her son was having sex. Lin came to the conclusion that the little harlot was going to be hounded with quite a few traffic violations in the next few years.

"I should have waited I guess," He started again, interrupting Lin's plans for revenge. "But she was so pretty and all my friends were encouraging the next step. I just got confused and the next thing I knew it was over. It wasn't even that great." He dropped his gaze to the table and started fiddling with his tea cup.

Lin barked out a laugh.

"You expected your first time to be magical?" she asked sarcastically.

"I expected my first time to have meaning!" he shot back.

Both starred each other down for a few tense moments before he let out a sigh and looked away.

"Jokes on me I guess." he mumbled sullenly gathering up his tea cup and depositing it into the sink.

When he turned back Lin moved to embrace him. He didn't fit quite as well as he did before but he contented himself by burying his forehead into his mothers neck. She responded with a rub to his shoulders and held him a little tighter.

"I'm sorry she broke your heart." Lin whispered into her sons hair. His only response was to nod but she suspected the warm tears splashing onto her uniform were answer enough.

Releasing him from her embrace she pushed him towards the direction of his room.

"Go get some rest. You'll feel better soon enough."

He gave her a grateful smile before following her instructions. Lin was sad to realize that she try as she might, she could never fully shield her son from the pains of getting older.

* * *

A week later, mother and son were finishing their evening meal, when a knock sounded at the front door.

Not expecting guests, Lin answered the knock with a curious face. It took a moment for Lin to recognize the young woman in front of her before her face split into a grin and she ushered the girl inside, then making her presence scarce to allow her son and his guest some privacy.

Skoochy looked up to question his mother as to who was at the door but his eyes found someone he hadn't been expecting.

The young woman who returned his gaze stood tall and proud in her new master robes. Her head cleanly shaven to allow access to the scalp for her new bright blue tattoos. Skoochy could see the arrows peeking from her clasped hands as well. The first female air-bender in nearly two hundred years cut quite an impressive figure. He found himself feeling a little intimidated.

Slowly he stood and walked toward his guest studying her face to spot any recognizable features of the girl who used to be his best friend. She returned his gaze without expression before breaking into a grin that completely transformed her face to look less imposing and more welcoming. Here was the Jinora he knew!

Skoochy returned the grin before fixing his gaze back on the newly acquired tattoo adorning her forehead. He noticed an inflamed redness that seemed to puff under the blue dye. Raising his hand, he gently stroked the point of the arrow before studying Jinora's face. She had closed her eyes and leaned into his touch despite the pain it must have caused her.

Opening her eyes again she met his gaze with one of her own before he finally broke free from his nervousness and enveloped her in a hug.

She had grown too, and not just physically. Her head fell to his shoulder and she seemed to grip his shirt as though afraid if she let go he would float away. She must have been very lonely in her quiet spiritual contemplation. Skoochy started at the realization and held her tighter to him placing his palm over the ribcage of her back, feeling her heart beat rhythmically.

After a few minutes of comfort, Jinora released her grip and Skoochy stepped back to study her again.

Noticing his scrutinizing gaze she brought a hand up to rub at the skin of her head. Already she could feel the soft bristles on newly regrowing hair but wished for a moment that it would grow back faster. Then maybe she would feel less intimidated by the handsome young man that had sprouted from her old friends body.

"It must be weird for you to have more hair than me huh?" she asked with a sheepish grin.

He returned the grin with a shrug before answering

"Nah, I know its hard to compete with these good looks." He gestured to his own form as she barked out a laugh and threw a punch at his shoulder.

Both teens settled into laughter before Skoochy walked over to the bookshelf, picked up a personal favorite, and returned to grab Jinora's hand.

"C'mon its my turn to read to YOU, and we have tons of time to catch up on." He tugged her out the door ignorant to her beaming grin at finding he had learned to read.

Lin watched her son exit the house with lighter steps than he had been sporting since the last time he had met up with the air-bender.

Moving to finish cleaning up the mess left over from dinner she found it difficult to wipe the smile from her face.


End file.
